Start of An Era
by PS2wizard
Summary: This takes place between Change Your Mind and Steven Universe the Movie. After a tiresome day, Steven pays a visit to the Big Donut and tells Mr. Dewey about how hectic his life has gotten. Faced with new responsibilities and new gems, Steven worries that he won't be able to handle these new challenges.


**I do not own Steven Universe, credit goes toward Cartoon Network, Rebecca Sugar, and the Crewniverse.**

The sun was setting on the horizon as Steven trudged down the sidewalk. No matter how dire the situation may be, no matter how grim the outcome looked, there was one place Steven could go to for breathing room: The Big Donut. The gigantic donut the business was named after stood out like a beacon of hope guiding him to sanctuary. The bakery has endured dozens of monster attacks, alien invasions, and Onion's antics. If there was anything Steven could rely on, it was that those doors would be open, the bell would ring as he stepped in, and someone would be inside with donuts for him to buy and Lion Lickers to ignore. Because they were just the worst.

Right as he neared entrance, he could see through the front windows that former Mayor Dewey was in the middle of a transaction with a customer. Even after a few months, it still felt weird seeing Dewey behind the counter instead of Lars and Sadie. He made the transition from politician to baker smoothly. Where most people like Lars dreaded working here, Dewey had a bright smile on his face as he dealt with a happy customer. He paused to reflect on how far things have changed in recent years, for better and worse before he pushed open the door and passed by a customer on the way out.

"Have a Dewey Day!" the former mayor called out before shifting his attention to Steven. "Ah Universe, I was wondering when you'd- YEEEZ!" Dewey winced once he took a second to actually look over Steven. A passing glance at the freezer allowed Steven a chance to see his reflection how roughed up he looked. He had dark bags under his eyes, his hair looked messier than usual, and he had a few scuff marks on his face and arms. Dewey cleared his throat and snapped Steven out of his train of thought. "What'll it be, kid?"

"Oh, right. Two dozen donuts please." Steven requested, although it lacked his jovial warmth.

"Anything else?" It was a little unsettling for Dewey to not see the kid without his usual pep.

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

Dewey suspected that something was wrong. That's not how bubbly gem kid usually ordered his food. Even on his worst days, he would be over the moon for a donut no matter what. Yet here he was acting like one of the early morning schmoes that just groan at Dewey's puns and haven't had their coffee. Normally he wouldn't pry into his customers' personal lives but when his best customer was acting off he had to figure out what it could be. That and he was just curious what could possibly shake up what was usually a walking ray of sunshine.

"Alright, I expect that kinda aloofness from my son but not you. What's eating you, kid? You got back from space a week ago and a bunch of your cousins, or whatever those new space ladies are, just moved to town. Shouldn't you be all "Schmow Zow! My life is super duper amazing!" or something?"

"Shmow Zow?" Steven echoed in confusion, bewildered by his impersonation.

"Isn't that one of your little catch phrases? Or am I thinking of some other kid?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that so many of the uncorrupted gems chose to stay instead of going back to Homeworld." For a brief moment, Steven's signature smile showed at the mention of all the new gems only to vanish immediately. "It's just a lot to deal with. You wouldn't believe how hard it is out there trying to run things." The thought alone made Steven clutch his head in frustration.

In response, Dewey leaned against the counter and gave the youngest member of the Crystal Gems a knowing look. "Try me."

Steven stared at Dewey puzzled by the confidence in his statement. Part of him suspected that Dewey was just testing him to see if he was making a big deal out of nothing but it also sounded like he genuinely understood Steven's situation. Which was impossible, since Steven was the only gem/human hybrid. The child of a Diamond, no less. Maybe it was because he wanted to get Dewey's take on the matter, maybe it was because he wanted to prove to the baker just how rough his day has been, or maybe it was to stall for time so he wouldn't have to leave right away. Regardless, he caved and told his story.

"Well, just this morning..."

* * *

Living next to the beach had its share of problems but one of the many amenities it provided was peaceful mornings. With his window open, he snoozed to the all the blissful sounds coming in from the sea. The gentle morning sea breeze, the faint crash of the incoming tide, the calls of seagulls soaring, the slam of the fridge door, the ripping of carboard boxes and plastic bags ripped open, and the sizzling from an iron pan. Actually, those last bits weren't normal and actually woke him up . That and the bizarre smell emanating from the kitchen that he couldn't quite figure out. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed a lithe figure looming over him with an eerily calm smile.

"Good morning, Steven."

Steven yelped and sat upright in bed, completely awake. The figure that greeted him was now easier to make out. Even though she looked familiar, Steven needed time to get accustomed to this new face. Steven yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eye. "Oh...good morning, Pink Pearl."

_"Pink Pearl?"_

_"Oh, I guess you haven't met her yet. She looks just like Pearl, except she has her hair in these buns, she's missing an eye, and spent thousands of years as White Diamond's brainwashed assistant. I felt bad for her so I brought her back to help get her caught up to speed and spend some time away from White Diamond."_

_"Just like Pearl eh? I'll keep that in mind."_

Going back to sleep was out of the option so Steven stretched out his arms and pushed off the covers. He hoped to get some more sleep after the long night he had, but it was probably for the best. With all the new gems moving in, he had a busy day ahead of him helping Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Speaking of, he was just about to ask Pink Pearl where his three caretakers were when he caught wind of a burning food. He turned and found a group of recently uncorrupted gems crowding around the stove in the kitchen below. Smoke was rising up from the stove and closest gem to the fumes was Nephrite, although Steven still liked to refer to her as Centi. Much like with the Rubies, Steven found it easier to give the gems that had the same gemstones nicknames since he had trouble remembering their facet ID's and was still trying to tell them apart. He could tell the Nephrite sitting on the kitchen counter was Centi because she was holding up a bag of Chaaaaaaps. Even after being uncorrupted, her love of chips have yet to die down, much like the smoke.

"Easy on the bacon. I still need to add the chips." She called out, trying to get the attention of the others.

A familiar hum rang from the Crystal Gems' door as Amethyst emerged from her room carrying a big bottle of maple syrup and a can of whipped cream. "Alright, time for the- WHAT THE!?"

Flames surged from the stove startling the amateur chefs. They backed away from the out of control fire while Centi clutched her bag of chips frozen in place. None of them made a move to help her and their frightened faces made it clear that even if they did, they wouldn't know how. Amethyst was the first to react, raising her hand to her gem, and summoning her signature whip. With a flick of her wrist, she lassoed Centi and pulled the chip loving gem out of harm's way towards her. Steven leapt into the fray next, quite literally from the top of the stairs. He slowed his descent as he landed in front of the gems, and brought up a pink shield to protect them. Pink Pearl was the last to act, jumping over Steven and summoning an item from her gem. Only unlike Amethyst, Pink Pearl summoned a fire extinguisher instead of a weapon. Gripping the nozzle in one hand, she aimed with the other and sprayed the stove with foam until the fire was suppressed. Once that was taken care of, she walked up to the stove and turned the burner off.

"Phew. Nice work, Pink Pearl." Steven praised. Pink Pearl seemed very pleased to be acknowledged much like a puppy being told that they were, in fact, a good boy. It's been ten minutes since he woke up and the gems have nearly given him two heart attacks. By no means was it a new record but not a good way to start the day. Steven dispelled his shield and looked back at the gems to see if anyone of them were harmed.

Amethyst finally let go of Centi, who held onto her snack like a child with their favorite toy. "Sorry Steven. I was trying to teach these guys how to cook, but APPARENTLY, they got a little carried away and didn't wait for me like I asked." Amethyst shot the gems a disapproving scowl once it was apparent that no one was harmed. Steven would have felt bad for the others if he wasn't weirded out seeing Amethyst being the one scolding troublemakers. Usually that was Pearl's job. The gems frowned and looked away, ashamed of what almost happened and unable to face the purple gem.

"What were you thinking? I told you guys to wait for me. You could have burned the whole house down! And I should know, I've come close waaaaaay too many times to burning it down." Steven could vouch for her but figured this wasn't the best time.

Centi was the first of the guilt-ridden gems to speak up. "Sorry Amethyst. We just wanted to surprise Steven with a special breakfast before he woke up."

"Awww, you guys." Steven cooed.

Steven might have been won over by their good intentions but Amethyst wasn't. She unfolded her arms and walked over the to stove and wipes off the foam covering the blackened pan. Whatever they were making was a charcoaled, unrecognizable mess. "Well next time, try to be a bit more careful. Bismuth just rebuilt this place, and I don't want to be the one to tell her that it got messed up again." The notion sent chills through the uncorrupted gems. While they were still catching up on everything they missed, they recognized early on that Bismuth was not to be messed with. Pal around with, sure? But not upset. Steven thought it was a little harsh of her but at the same time he was impressed with how she handled the situation. It was almost hard to believe how much progress Amethyst has made.

That is, until he saw Amethyst pick up the pan and stuff the burnt dish into her mouth, suds and all. She swished it around in her mouth before gulping it down. "Huh, a little burnt but not bad."

Centi lit up and seemed to take it as a compliment. "Thanks! We used everything in the fridge to make it."

"Wait, everything?" Steven rushed past the gems to check the fridge and see if she was speaking literally. To his dismay, she was speaking literally. Not a speck of food was left inside the fridge.

"Yes...everything..." Centi confirmed awkwardly, as she slowly hid her chips behind her back

_Since Pearl was still out shopping, I decided to go out for breakfast. So I went to over to Lars' place-_

_Hold the phone, Universe._

* * *

"You went to Lars for breakfast...instead of me?" The former mayor asked, his lip trembling. In that moment Steven was reminded of someone from Camp Pining Hearts who found out their BFF won the Smores making challenge without them. Except somehow Dewey was hamming his performance up even more.

"What? No, it's not what you think." Steven insisted, hoping to appease him before he had entire new dilemma on his hands. Too late.

"No no no, don't even bother. I get it." He said bitterly. "He's the hot new item around town with all his space ladies, inventive dishes, and perfect score from the health inspector." Dewey then slammed his hand on the counter and pointed to Steven, "I would have gotten a perfect score too but apparently if you forget to wash your hands ONE time-"

"Would you feel better if I ordered another dozen donuts?"

"...And some donut holes?"

"Fine." He said with an exasperated sigh of defeat. Dewey calmed down after that and Steven had one less problem to worry about that day. "May I continue?"

Once he received a solemn nod from Mr. Dewey, he continued, "As I was saying..."

* * *

Over at Galaxy Bakery, the former rebels turned bakers were hard at work. One of the Rhutile Twins could be seen through a little kitchen window taking a written down order and one of Fluorite's many hands could be seen placing a finished crescent on the. At the counter was the cotton candy colored captain Lars, who had traded his space attire for an apron with the bakery's name labeled on it. Waiting on the tables was the shortest of the crew, Padparadscha. The orange off color was delivering treats to customers sitting at their tables. Aside from the aliens working there, you would think it's just an ordinary looking café. Except for one strange recurrence...

"Hey Lars!" Steven shouted, as he leapt out of Lars' hair. Lars was startled by the sudden arrival, though not as much as the customer he was helping. Steven flopped onto the floor, using his powers to soften the landing just a bit.

"STEVEN!" Lars yelped. "What did I tell you about popping out of my head?"

"To text you in case you're in the bathroom?"

Before Lars could get a word in, Padparadscha dropped the tray she was carrying and exclaimed, "Oh no! Lars is going to miss a text from Steven!"

Lars glared at Steven while he reached into his pocket and took out his phone. His expression remained unchanged as he checked his messages and found the one Steven sent five minutes ago. When he returned his attention back to Steven he softened up ever so slightly.

"You better not make this a habit."

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush. Can I get two cinnamon rolls to go?" Steven requested, holding up two fingers..

Lars rang up his order and Steven got out his money to pay him. Looking around the cozy little eatery, he was happy to see the Off Colors find a new purpose here. It was a shame that the other gems were taking longer to adjust. Rather than dwell on that, he shifted his focus over to Padparadscha.

"Hey Padparadscha?" Steven asked, "Have you had any visions recently about that Jasper I told you about?"

_Wait which one is she?_

_Seriously?_

_I can't keep track of all your crazy aunts._

_Ughh. She's beefy, orange with white hair, had it out for me because she thought I was Rose Quartz and that I shattered Pink Diamond. She ran off after I healed her and none of us have seen her since._

_Orange and beefy. Got it._

Padparadscha stopped and put a finger to her chin. "Hmmmm, no. I've had many visions of gems but alas, none about a Jasper. Oh wait!"

"Yes!?" He asked.

"Well it's hard to say. It looks like Onion is smearing a wall with a jar of 'My-on-eese'?"

"Oh..." So much for finding Jasper today. It was a long shot but Steven needed every lead he could get if he was going to catch the runaway warrior. He didn't have time to search for her but if their past encounters had taught him anything, it was only a matter of time before she showed back up. Steven turned around to go check on his food but stopped when his phone dinged. Apparently Lars wasn't the only one that missed some texts. He received a couple from Pink Pearl that seemed urgent.

HI STEVEN, THIS IS PEARL. WHERE IS THE WASHING MACHINE?

NEVER MIND, I FOUND IT.

STEVEN HOW DO YOU OPERATE THE WASHING MACHINE? IT IS NOT AS INTUITIVE AS I EXPECTED.

HOW MUCH SOAP DO I NEED TO USE?

OMS THERE'S SOAP EVERYWHERE!

Clearly he was going to have to wait to enjoy those cinnamon rolls. Lars handed him his order and Steven took his leave. Padparadscha picked her tray up and was about to resume her work when all of a sudden she had a realization. "Huh, that building Onion is defacing looks like ours."

Lars's eyes widened in horror and then bolted out to the back door screaming, "ONION!"

_Wait how did you know that happened?_

_Are you going to be commenting over my whole story?_

_Sorry, force of habit._

* * *

_Anyway, helping Pink Pearl with laundry was probably the easiest part of the day. Once the laundry was done we were able to sit in and help Pearl and Bismuth decide where we should build the new gem settlement._

Steven and Pink Pearl sat side by side both of them still a little sudsy and sitting on a towel on the couch folding laundry. Across from them, Pearl stood before a chalkboard tapping a piece of chalk against her chin deep in. She was deep in thought staring at list of crossed out locations, a detailed drawing of the planet, and a small reminder in the bottom corner that read 'PRINT MORE PEARL POINT STICKERS'. Bismuth was looking over several maps spread out over the coffee table, with several spots x'ed out.

"What about the Sky Spire?" Bismuth suggested. "No people, plenty of room, and Heaven Beetle already has a place set up. Besides, I'm pretty sure she won't mind bunking with Earth Beetle," she teased.

Pearl nodded but responded, "There are also no guard rails, plumbing, or electricity. It's also not safe for Steven or any humans to be up at that altitude for extended periods of time."

Struck with an idea, Steven hopped in with, "Oh! What about the Strawberry Fields? It's pretty, there's lots of space and battle gear lying around, and we could make our own jams there. We could call it the Crystal Jams!" Bismuth snrked and tried her best to not laugh at the goofy pun whereas Pink Pearl beamed and applauded the idea. Pearl however

"I don't think they'll approve of moving onto a former battle site where hundreds of humans and gems fought for their freedom. Also we don't know how to make jam."

"Oh...right."

As soon as Pink Pearl saw his smile vanish, she chimed in, "We could always learn to make jam ourselves." It was sweet of her to try and lift his spirits, but that wasn't the part that brought his mood down.

"Ughh, why can't we just set up outside of Beach City?" Bismuth groaned in frustration. "They got a whole patch of land they don't even use."

"I know it's silly but Nanafua said we need to fill out the proper paperwork and purchase the land before we can begin any construction." Pearl answered. The way she answered felt a little harsh to Steven but he knew that she wasn't upset at Bismuth but rather the difficult situation they were in.

"What about that nice vagrant that Steven visits?" Pink Pearl inquired.

"You mean my dad?" While he wasn't thrilled about hearing his dad be called a vagrant, Pink Pearl did make a good point. "I mean I guess he could pay for it-"

"We shouldn't rely on Greg to solve all of our problems and we shouldn't be using his money unless it's for an emergency. Given the fiascos we had this morning, who knows what we'll face next." Speaking of the morning incident, the burnt smell still lingered in the air from this morning even though they had all the doors and windows open to air it out. Steven wracked his brain trying to find someplace the gems could call home but most of the locations that came to mind were tainted with bad memories from the gem war. "Besides, we can't keep them in Amethyst's room forever."

"Why not? They seem to like it there," Pink Pearl pointed out. "It's big enough for all of them, they're close to Steven, they aren't hurting any humans, and they're safe."

When the idea of putting the new gems inside Amethyst's room was tossed out, Steven was on board. It was certainly better than having them camp outside, and with the barn trashed from Garnet's wedding, they had nowhere else to go. However they weren't the best roommates to have and didn't understand how valuable sleep was to Steven. More importantly, just because Amethyst was happy living in her sty of a room doesn't mean they were. Much like him, the uncorrupted gems were ecstatic to move in at first but lately the charm had worn off. They weren't upset, or at least they never complained, but he worried that this wasn't how they wanted to live. Steven was about to say this but Pearl beat him to the punch.

"That's not good enough. After everything they've been through, after everything they've experienced, they should be able to call this planet their home. How can they do that when we have them stuffed in with all of Amethyst's junk? It won't be easy, but one way or another we will find them a home. They deserve the chance to discover their potential and to become their own gem. Just like when Rose gave us our chance."

Following Pearl's speech there was an uncomfortable silence. Both of the Pearls were crestfallen by the mention of Steven's mother. Steven just then noticed Pink Pearl gripping one of the couch cushions and Pearl clutching the piece of chalk tightly, to the point that Steven was sure it would break.

"Sooooo...how about the Sea Spire?" Bismuth recommended.

"Actually...I kind of destroyed that." He confessed, happy to have the silence broken.

"Seriously!? I didn't know you had it in you."

Bismuth chuckled and offered Steven a fistbump, to which he pounded. He laughed with her, looking back on the humiliating moment and how funny it was in retrospect. Pearl smiled too and returned to the task at hand.

_We spent two hours going over places the gems could move to but nothing worked. Pearl did give me an idea though. If the gems were going to call Earth their home, they needed to learn everything we have to offer. And I thought, what better way than through our culture?_

* * *

Standing in front of the crowd of gems, Steven waited as they all talked amongst each other, no doubt wondering why Steven assembled them all together at the abandoned warehouse. Rows of folded chairs were set up for the gems, although the towering black and white gem that Bismuth called Snowflake simply crouched down in the very back. Pink Pearl was busy setting up a projection screen, with a projector set up in the middle of the crowd on a stand. All the conversations blended together and made it hard for him to comprehend but he could make out some of them were talking about. Some of the gems were worried that this was a meeting about the kitchen incident from that morning, others wondered if this was about the 'rogue gem'. Steven was about to get out his phone when someone kicked open the double doors.

Everyone looked back to see who it could be. Standing in the doorway, the sun glinting off her visor, was a gem with two hands behind her back. She had an air of authority around her and a reputation that all the uncorrupted gems were familiar with. Gifted with a unique power that none of them possessed, this was a gem not to be trifled with. This was the unofficial leader of the Crystal Gems.

"Hey Peridot, you made it!"

_Peridot?_

_Yeah, Peridot. _

_She's the little green one that shouts a lot, right?_

_She...shouts a reasonable amont...mostly..._

_Huh, thought you were talking about someone else._

_Anyway, out of all the gems I knew Peridot was the perfect gem to teach the others about Earth culture. Also I was pretty sure she wouldn't speak to me for a month if I didn't ask for her help. _

With the projector and screen finally set up, Peridot unveiled her most prized possession to the crowd of gems: the Camp Pining Heart Season 1 DVD set. She got a mix reaction of "oooohs" and "ahhhhhs" and one "that's it?".

_At first, things turned out great. __They were loving every second of it and learning all sorts of neat stuff about Earth like syndicated television, summer friendships, and maple syrup. But then, we finished the first season and opened it up to discussion. We lasted five minutes before one of them tossed a chair out the window. _

The gems argued with one another while some of them were actively brawling. Snowflake stood over them all timidly trying to calm the crowd but to no avail while Pink Pearl was trapped in the sea of gems. Poor Steven was thankfully protected by his bubble but the down side was he was getting tossed around like a volleyball.

"GuUuUuUuUys! Break it u-u-up!"

His cries fell on deaf ears as they continued to quarrel. The spiky, former pufferfish Watermelon Tourmaline, or Watermelon for short, was locked in hand to hand combat with the one-eyed Orange Spodumene, whom Steven didn't have a nickname for just yet. The two were grappling and bickering with one another as chaos ensued around them.

"They were too fast to forgive Sheela," Shouted Orange.

"Her redemption arc isn't finished yet. She's still trying to make up for her past and growing as a character" Watermelon retorted.

"You're just saying that because you think she's cute!"

As Steven's bubble was tossed around the room, he searched for someone that might be able to put an end to this insanity or restore order but everyone seemed to be up in hysterics. He couldn't see Peridot but he hoped she was safe at least.

"You clods have no taste! Percierre is OTP!"

Nevermind, she was standing at the front levitating two metal folding chairs in the air. She used one to shield herself from a box of donuts that was tossed her way, and then retaliated by lobbing said chairs across the room. She got some good distance with them too but they didn't hit any of the gems. Rather, one gem who walked in on the chaos managed to catch both of them. She brought raised the chairs up and then slammed them together like cymbals, only the metallic clang that disrupted the fight wasn't as pleasant and the chairs were bent out of shape after. Every gem stopped what they doing and saw who was in the doorway.

Garnet.

_Finally, a name I recognize!_

The only being not frozen in place was Steven, and that's because his bubble was still slowing to a halt and his stomach was settling. Even if the room wasn't spinning, Garnet's stoic demeanor and visor made it hard to tell what she was thinking.

"Peridot," The fusion uttered.

Regardless of what she had planned, none of the gems dared to stand in her way. They immediately parted allowing Garnet to walk straight to the front where she could confront the trembling metal manipulator. Considering how upset Amethyst was this morning, Garnet was sure to be livid about this. Unable to face her head on, Peridot shut her eyes and accepted her inevitable scolding.

"I brought the second season you asked for."

In her hand, she revealed the second season DVD set for Camp Pining Heart. Peridot let out a sigh of relief as she accepted the case. The rest of the gems were baffled by this but only Orange said what they were all thinking. "There are more episodes?"

Garnet faced the rioting gems and answered, "Yes there are. But we aren't starting until you clean this mess up. Understood?"

The gems got to work setting the chairs back up and picking up some of the food that got tossed on the ground. As for Steven, he laid sprawled out in his bubble groaning. He found the energy to dismiss his bubble and collect himself. From his hair, Heaven and Earth Beetle popped up from their hiding place. He weakly held up his hand, and the two tiny gems used it as a platform to hop down where they walked hand in hand to their seats. Steven pushed himself off the ground and found Garnet offering a hand to him.

"Steven, we're out of donuts," she informed him while helping the boy up, "Could you go get some more?"

Steven was still recovering and staggered for a moment, only for Pink Pearl to catch him. She faced Garnet and told her, "I'd be delighted to get you more-"

"No," She interjected. "Steven already knows what donuts everyone likes."

Pink Pearl sullenly looked to the young boy in her arms expecting him to back her up on this. Instead, he patted her arm and gave a reassuring smile to her.

"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it with a pink frosted donut."

_WAIT! How long has it been!?_

* * *

Steven yanked his phone out and rushed to unlock his screen. "Aww geez! That was almost twenty minutes ago!"

"What's the rush? I don't get why you're in such a hurry. It sounds like you were happy to get away from all that."

"It's not like that," Steven insisted, leaning against the counter. "I know it's not easy, but I'm excited to have all these new gems in my life and to show them how great Earth is. I'm just not used to dealing with this many all at once. Not to mention Jasper is out there probably confused about this whole mess, we still need a place for the gems to live, and I'm still trying be undo the mess mom left behind. I just don't know how I'm going to do all that without letting everyone down."

He clutched his head ready to start tearing his hair out and placed his head down. All he had to say about it was, "Wow, talk about deja vu. I used to worry about that all the time."

Steven raised his head up along with an eyebrow. "You did?"

"Well not the mom part, obviously, but remember I had to deal with running this whole town. I had a lot on my plate too; making sure tourists kept coming, appearing at public events, dealing with your aunts' monster brawls every other week, and whenever something went wrong everyone expected me to magically make it all better. Except I couldn't. All I could do was try to please everyone as best I could and hope they re-elect me."

"Do you ever miss it? Or wonder what you could have done differently?"

"Well this isn't as glamorous as being the mayor but at least it's manageable. At least here, I only have to worry about cleaning up my mess, instead of someone else's. And I don't have time to dwell on the past, making donuts isn't as easy as that catchy training video looks."

"It sounds pretty nice. Wish I could open my own donut place and forget about everything."

"Well you can't. For one thing, I got enough competition as is," Dewey pointed out. "But also, you're not me. Or your mom. Or those other space ladies. You're you. You run around singing songs and fighting monsters and befriending everyone you meet."

"I don't sing... that much." Steven said, averting his gaze.

"Yes you do." Dewey called out as a matter of fact. Steven didn't bother refuting him. "The point is I wasn't that good at my job, but you're good at making people happy and fixing huge problems. Not because you have to, but because you want to. You genuinely care about people and you don't ever give up on them. I'm sure you'll get the hang of this eventually. I bet you'll have this all figured out in your own Steven-y way by the end of the month."

"But what if I can't do it? What if I can't fix everything?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You got three magic space moms, don't you?"

Just as Steven was about to correct him, he stopped. He was right. Well not exactly the magic space moms thing, but Steven did have Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. "Yeah...yeah I do. No matter what, they'll always be there for me. And I'll always be there for them. Thanks for the advice Mr. Dewey but I should really get back. If I could just get those donuts..."

"Sure, what'll it be?"

"Huh... oh right." He giggled realizing that after all this time, he never specified what he actually wanted. "Well let's see. A pink frosted donut for Pink Pearl, a powdered donut for Amethyst..." As he listed off the donuts that he needed, Steven was already making plans for when he got back. The first item on his agenda: ask Garnet if she really sent him there just for donuts.

* * *

**Thanks for taking the time to read this. I did my best to write this in the same style as "An Indirect Kiss" or "Letters for Lars". I initially wrote this as a spec script and then revised it in a fanfiction format. If you enjoyed this, please favorite and write a review with any comments you may have.**

**I'm also considering writing my own season that takes place between Change Your Mind and Steven Universe the Movie. I'm still finetuning the details, and admittedly the latest trailer for Steven Universe Future has thrown a wrench in my plans in exploring certain characters. Still, I might write it and make it a non-compliant fic that could be in an AU or something, I haven't made up my mind. What I do know is that if I do start it, I will finish it so I won't start until I have everything worked out. Until then, thanks for reading  
**


End file.
